Five-year-old boy dies after quad bike accident

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The death of a five-year-old boy who rode a quad bike into the path of a car outside his Perth home has prompted a renewed warning about the dangers "recreational" vehicles pose to children.

The child had been using the bike in the driveway of his family home in the eastern Perth suburb of Gooseberry Hill about 1.50pm yesterday before riding it onto Watsonia Road, where he was hit by a passing car.

Police said he was thrown from the bike after glancing off the rear of the car and hitting the horse float the vehicle was towing at 40kph.

The boy was taken to Princess Margaret Hospital with critical head and chest injuries but died about 9pm yesterday.

"We don't know the reason why this young fellow has gone out onto the road," said Sergeant Andy Rigg, of the East Metropolitan Crash Investigation Unit.

"There's nothing to say he actually lost control of it."

The child, whose name has not been released, was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident but police said it may not have been fastened correctly.

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Child safety organisation Kidsafe WA today said quad bikes, or all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), were not safe for children despite being seen as recreational vehicles.

"It does seem as if there is this perception that this is a recreational activity therefore perhaps not that dangerous and something that the children can do," Kidsafe WA executive director Sue Wicks said.

"It is a piece of equipment. They might not have the same engine power as a racing car but they are fast and they're heavy."

Ms Wicks urged parents against allowing children to operate any kind of motorised vehicles.

"Young children don't have the experience and the skills to be able to properly control these motorised vehicles, and because they are motorised, when things go wrong, they go wrong very quickly," she said.

More than 20 Australians have died riding ATVs in the past two years.

A recent report by the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit showed two out of five ATV injuries involved children under the age of 15, despite manufacturers recommending against use under 16.

The issue gained prominence last month when seven-year-old Tyler Moon suffered nine broken ribs, abdominal, arm and internal injuries in a quad bike crash on the NSW south coast.

He was hailed as a hero after raising the alarm for his injured father.